Beautiful Eyes
by Hattie1997
Summary: "God," he groaned, turning away from me as he pulled at his hair. "What?" I found myself asking even if I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer. "I'm a Veela," he responded hurriedly, "And you're my Mate." "Well, if this is a confession session, I have one to make. I'm not really a Granger." This only got even more confusion. I was in serious trouble. Read and review.
1. Prologue

**I know it's been done before but I just love the idea of Draco being a Veela so sorry, but you've got it again. Please read and review and if you like Dramione stories please check out my profile.**

**Right, here's the first chapter. Hope you like it.**

He was walking down the street, pretending to be oblivious to the glares surrounding him on all sides and the whispers that followed his every step. Yes, he pretended to ignore them; pretend being the key word. In reality every stare, every whisper, every point was like a knife stabbing into his heart.

It was the middle of the war, and most of the shop along Diagonal Alley were boarded up - and Ollivanders had even been broken into. It was the summer between his son's sixth and seventh year and he was on his way to the only shop actually emitting some colour.

He pushed some long, platinum-blond hair out of his silver eyes and glowered at nothing in particular. He did not want to do this but he must in order to ensure the survival of his son.

He pushed open the bright orange door, only pausing momentarily to roll his eyes at the sign on it - Don't worry about You-Know-Who, worry about Un-No-Poo; the constipation sensation that's gripping the nation.

The inside of the shop was just as colourful as the outside; it was like Honeydukes on a hot, summers, Hogsmeade day. Shelves rose as high as the ceiling, filled with all manner of merchandise and the red-headed twins were flitting about helping customers left, right and centre. However, it was not one of the twins he was searching for, but rather a Mister Arthur Weasley, who was chatting to the bushy-haired bookworm about some muggle device or other.

As soon as he caught his eyes, the eldest Weasley turned and disappeared into the back of the shop, only pausing once to nod quickly in his direction.

"We'll?" Arthur asked, almost impatiently, "What do you need?"

Irritably, Lucius Malfoy brushed another lock of hair out of his eyes and ended up tying it into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His eyes pierced his companions as he opened his mouth to speak. His voice as he did so was calm yet had an underlying tone of need.

"I need your help."


	2. Veela

**I am sorry for those of you who just liked the idea of Draco being a Veela, but I had a really good idea and wanted to incorporate that as well. Also, I have just gotten a new Apple Mac Computer and I don't have word yet so it is awkward for me to respond to reviews. Please continue to review but I won't respond until I do get it - which should be in a couple of days or so. Thanks.**

**Veela**

Hermione:

I awoke to the sound of a loud bang. Opening my eyes blearily I took in the two faces grinning down at me. Both had bright red hair and freckles - signalling them as Weasley's, and they both were short, but not tiny, and stocky, with Beater-like builds.

"Did we wake ya, Mione?" the one on the left, otherwise known as George due to the ear he had lost after it had been cursed off by none other than our old Potions Professor, Severus Snape, asked mischievously.

"So sorry about that," the one of the right, Fred, sang merrily, "Didn't mean to. You see Mum thought you had slept long enough and gave us the go-ahead that we were aloud to wake you."

"Are you _sure _that was your Mum?"

"Now that you've said it, it did sound a lot like Gin-a-ling-a-loo-la."

Snorting at their childish antics, I asked, "Do you mean Ginny?"

"Course we do."

I groaned, attempting to stuff my pillow over my head but it suddenly disappeared, courtesy of George. "What time is it anyway?"

Oh, about eight o'clock," was the airy reply as the two troublemakers left the room, Fred shouting over his shoulder, "You have fifteen minutes or we'll be back up here."

**XxX**

Draco:

I stretched luxuriously and smirked lazily to myself as I sat up in my King-sized bed. It had black covers with the Malfoy Family Crest stamped onto it; the pillow was the same. I glanced around the familiar room,taking in the surroundings - from the ebony piano in one corner to the mini-library in another.

Swinging my legs out of bed, I made my way into my en-suite, sneering at the thought that it was probably bigger than Weasley's whole house. After having a shower and getting changed into a pair of muggle jeans and a simple white t-shirt, I made my way into the main library and curled up in one of the chairs, taking down my personal copy of Hogwarts: A History.

I had thought that nobody read this book but once, when I had been studying in the library, I had heard the mudblood and the Weaslette chatting about it, with the mudblood saying that it was a really good book. I definitely _didn't _decide to read it because she said it was good, not at all. But read it I did and it actually wasn't that bad.

"Draco," a voice from the doorway startled me from my thoughts. After placing the book on the glass side-table, I raised my eyes to see a dark-skinned, handsome boy with pitch-black hair and eyes that stole right into your soul standing there. He was flanked by two taller, thickset boys, each with bowl-haircuts, and standing next to him were three pretty girls - two blonds and a brunette.

Blaise Zabini stepped forward, grinning at me, as he took the seat opposite. Pansy Parkinson, the brunette, took Blaise's hand in her smaller one and gave him and encouraging grin, while the two blonds, Daphne Greengrass and Millicent Bulstrode, took the final seats around the coffee table on which the book had been placed. Waving my wand lazily, two, bigger chairs were conjured for Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who both gave me a thankful nod before sitting.

"What's up, Blaise?" I asked, showing the closest I ever could to worry at the tears forming in my long-time friends eyes. He didn't reply to start with, but a small squeeze of the hand from Pansy made him clear his throat before beginning his story.

"The Dark Lord came to visit us today."

The Dark Lord _had_ been staying at my house but, for no apparent reason, my father had had a change of heart and decided to join the light. Dumbledore, who had somehow survive the killing curse shot at him by Severus, made our house unplottable so that he could not find it. Since then he had been searching for a new place to stay, going to many different Pureblood houses.

"He wasn't there to stay but guess what he said. He told me that I have a twin sister whom my parents hid away for her safety when we were born. Apparently, _He _already knew about me so they couldn't hide me as well. Well, he is not sure where she is but he said that when he finds her, he wants to take her as his heir."

Throughout the whole, heartbreaking, story I had stayed silent but now I spoke up. "Do you know who she is?"

Blaise shook his head, "No, but Dumbledore does. He said that when the time is right he will tell us, but for now we have to be content with the fact that she is alive. I have a sister, Draco. A sister I never even knew existed."

"Are you upset about this?" I asked, wondering why he was so upset.

"No, but if You-Know-Who finds her before we do, then she could be turned dark."

"She'll be fine," I said, unsure of how to comfort him. Fortunately, I didn't have to as my Father entered the study at that moment, followed by none other than the King of the Weasel's, Arthur Weasley. Blaise and the others quickly took their leave, as did Arthur, while Father took Pansy's recently vacated seat.

"We will wait for your Mother, but there is something we must speak to you about."

I nodded, literally burning with curiosity but knowing that asking would get me nowhere.

It was another five minutes before Mother entered, her white-blond hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. This was weird, my Mother was _never _sloppy.

"Draco..." she breathed but was unable to continue.

"We need to tell you that you are a Veela; I am as well but the gene's dominant," Father interrupted harshly.

All I could think to say was, "What?"


	3. Dating a Weasley

**Lavonne1962 - Thanks for reviewing, I loved reading it. Most of the Dramione fanfics I've read - and I've read a lot - have Lucius Malfoy as the bad guy, but wanted to portray him as the good guy instead. Does it seem too farfetched or is it okay? I hope you like this chapter and please read and review. Thanks again.**

**Guest (who reviewed chapter 1) Thanks for reviewing, I hope you like this chapter.**

**Dutch Potterfan - Thanks for reading and reviewing, please continue to do so.**

**PeediePanda - I just want to start by saying that I love your name. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter.**

**Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER - Thanks for reviewing. I hope you like this chapter.**

**T.S. Nuit - Trust me, I didn't think you would steal my idea, and even if you had, I wouldn't have mined as long as it wasn't exactly the same. I would love to read your Draco Veela story if you start it and then I can give you some feedback before you post it. I was also thinking of starting one with Hermione as a Nymph also with a Mate (in other words Draco because I'm a massive Dramione fan). What do you think? Thanks for the reviewing. I hope you like this chapter.**

**PLEASE READ THE WORDS BELOW.**

**By this way, this chapter may seem confusing but only Draco and Hermione's parts are in the first person, everyone else's are in the third person.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter...**

**Dating a Weasley**

Hermione:

I gave the two annoying twins my best McGonagall glare as I stormed down from Ginny's bedroom, where I was staying, and plopped down at the kitchen table, where most of the other Weasley's were. Mr and Mrs Weasley weren't down yet and Percy was arriving tomorrow. However, Bill was there with his girlfriend Fleur Delacour, and Charlie was there, by himself as usual.

"Good," George complimented with a grin, "It only took you fourteen minutes and fifty three seconds."

"I wasn't counting," I grumbled back, digging into the porridge Ginny had slid in front of me with a content grin.

"We all have half an hour before Mum and Dad get um," Ron announced around a mouthful of his own breakfast, "So who wants to play Quidditch?"

Soon most of the Weasley's had left the room ad Fleur decided to go outside and watch them.

"Fred, are you coming?" Ginny yelled from outside but the other Weasley child shouted back, "In a minute," with no hint of a teasing smile on his face.

I raised my eyes to his, heart beating a mile a minute, to see him watching me. If I was honest with myself I had a bit of a crush on Fred. I had always been able to tell him and his twin apart and he wasn't that much older than me, but there was just something about him that drew me in. That was a laugh. Why would he, the funny, handsome Weasley, ever want to go out with me, the bushy-haired, bookworm mudblood?

He took a deep breath before beginning to speak and I kept my eyes on his, breathing heavily.

"I need to ask you something, Hermione," he said quietly, closing his eyes nervously. I had never seen him nervous before; it was something of a novelty.

"What?" I asked, hating myself for sounding so breathless and exited.

**XxX**

Harry:

"Why did Fred stay in there?" Harry asked as he collected his Firebolt broom and mounted it. George, Bill and Charlie swapped glances, Bill seeming to ask the other two a silent question for which George answered in the affirmative. Bill smirked good-naturedly.

"He'll be so nervous," Charlie stated with a small grin.

"Why?" the youngest male Weasley asked and the sentiments were echoed by his sister.

"Have you ever noticed that Fred goes really quiet whenever Hermione is in the room unless he goes to seek her out himself?" George asked, staring at the two sixteen-year-olds and one fifteen-year-old with a Dumbledore-like twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah," Ginny replied, "I just thought he had nothing to say."

"Fred always has something to say," Harry said with a smirk before turning back to the older three, "So you mean to say that Fred has a crush on Hermione?"

"That's exactly what we mean to say," George confirmed.

"And he's asking her out right now?

"He's too old for her," Ron protested, frowning slightly as he glanced at the open kitchen window, where two shadowy figures could be seen.

"Only by two years,"Ginny squealed happily, "Oh it's so exiting and it will give him a reason to visit Hogwarts."

"We can visit anyway. Honestly, Ginny," George said with a laugh.

The red-head merely shrugged.

**XxX**

Hermione:

"I've liked you for a long time," Fred said quietly, moving around the table to sit next to me and turning me around to face him. "And...well...I was wondering...if...you'd want to go out with me?"

I stared at him in shock. I had never thought that my feelings were being returned (God, that made me sound like Ginny when she was pining over Harry) but I was glad that they were.

I didn't think I would be able to speak at the moment so I only nodded happily, giving him a coy grin as he leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly against mine. As I responded, he moved one hand to the back of my head and the other hand moved me from my seat and onto his lap.

I had kissed someone before but I hadn't felt the same fireworks I felt then with Fred. It was indescribably, and so, so wonderful. I only pulled away when I needed oxygen and then I leaned my forehead against his, breathing heavily.

"I'll take that as a yes?" he asked breathless and as I made a noise in the affirmative, his grin widened and he replied, "Good."

**XxX**

Draco:

"I'm a Veela?" I asked in horror, staring at me parents. The one thing I had been proud of all my life had been that I had pure blood, and now I found out that that wasn't true. In that case my blood was worse than Granger's, and she was a mudblood.

"I'm sorry, son," Mother breathed softly, "I am so sorry."

"There's more to it," I guessed, glancing from one to the other, "Well, what is it?"

"Because you are a Veela, this also means that you have a Mate, someone who you must spend the rest of your life with."

"What happens if I don't?" I asked, fearing the worst.

"You will not die, but you will become unconditionally depressed. You will not be able to be happy with anyone else."

"What about her?"

"She will be able to do what she wishes until you have bitten her..."

"This just gets better and better," I muttered, interrupting my Father, "Why do I have to bite her?"

"To mark her as your own of course," he replied as though it was stupid, "Now, as I was saying, once you've bitten her, neither of you will be able to be apart or you will both be unbearably miserable."

"Now," Mother took over from him, "There is a potion that can be made to find out who your Mate is but only a few people are allowed the recipe and it has to be made by us with their help. Due to the fact that your Mate may be a Muggle - although that is very unlikely - it is the Muggle Liaison Office that are allowed the potion. And even though he works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, your Father has managed to enlist Arthur Weasley's help so we must Floo over there now."

"We have to go to the Weasels' house?" I asked in disgust, "But..."

"No 'but's," Mother interrupted, her voice nearly a growl, "And you will not be rude when we get there."

As we were still in the Library, we had to move into one of our many sitting rooms in order to Floo over there. Father went first, with Mother following him and me bringing up the rear.

When I entered, I nearly went straight into their backs as sitting at the table, making out, was a mane of softly curling brown hair and ginger locks. At first I thought it was the youngest male Weasley but as they drew up for air I noticed it was the twin with no missing ear, whatever he was called.

"Finally managed to score, Granger?" I asked cruelly and two sets of eyes fixed on mine. Granger flushed scarlet and moved over no-lost-ears lap and back onto her own seat. Mother flashed me a warning look over her shoulder as the King of the Weasley's came down the stairs. As soon as he saw us, he gave a stiff nod and moved into another room.

With one more smirk back at Granger, I followed my parents.


	4. Weird Feelings

**Lavonne1962 – Thanks for the review, I loved reading it. I hope you like this chapter, more Hermione / Fred to come but never forget Dramione, which is who this story is about.**

**Candid Serenity – Thanks for reviewing. I thought the Malfoy's needing to work with the Weasley's was just the icing on the cake, metaphorically speaking, and I haven't yet read a fanfic that had it so I thought that it might be a good idea. I'm glad you liked it. I agree, Draco is the best but I thought Hermione should be going out with someone when Draco finds out she's his mate. I know no-one saw Hermione and Fred and thought it would be more Hermione and Ron but if they went out and when it inevitably stopped, then their friendship would be ruined and I think Ron and Hermione's friendship is unique so I didn't want to break that. Also, I'm not a massive fan of heartbreak so Hermione and Fred's breakup will most likely be mutual, sorry if that is not what you wanted. I hope you like this chapter and please keep reading and reviewing.**

**Fullofpassion09 – I'm not a massive fan of heartbreak so when Hermione and Fred do breakup it will probably be mutual on both their parts and they will still remain friends. Thanks for the review, I hope you like this chapter.**

**PLEASE READ THIS AUTHORS NOTE:**

**Later on in this chapter, there are potions ingredients. I made up the properties of these ingredients so if that is not actually what they do is of no matter to me. Thanks.**

**Weird Feelings**

Draco:

Even though I had tried not to show it, when I had seen mudblood Granger making out with no-missing-ear Weasley, something had seemed to snap inside of me. I had really wanted to rip Weasley's face off, although I had no idea why. That was why I pretended like I didn't feel anything and instead followed my parents and old man Weasel into what could only be described as a pigsty. It was utterly filthy, but Arthur Weasley was already talking so I didn't have time to take in my surroundings.

"You said you needed my help, Lucius, but you never specified what for."

"Yes," was all Father said in reply, watching the redheaded man across from us intently while choosing his next words carefully. "I believe that you know that my Grandmother was a Veela and that the gene is dominant. There are no male Veela's, only female, but the male's in a family may retain the traits of Veela's, such as the ability to produce wings, have black eyes, have fangs or have a mate. I believe you know that it is rare for a Veela to have all of these traits, but many of the males have a Mate and that it is your job to help them find them."

"Once you're done with the history lesson, maybe we'd like to start," Weasley said dryly once Father had finished. I, personally, had found it fascinating and slightly creepy, but Arthur obviously already knew all of this so he wasn't so happy with what he called a 'history lesson'.

I saw Father giving him a glare and thinning his lips furiously. He wasn't very pleased with the way Weasley talked down to him, that much was obvious, and it was clearly only the fact that we needed his help that stopped him from attacking him and leaving.

"How do we help?" Mother asked, placing a placating hand on Father's arm as she spoke to Arthur, her eyes pleading for him not to say anything else condescending and Father would not be able to reign in his anger much longer if he did.

"I will need you to collect all of these ingredients, some of which will take up to two months to procure, by which time your son may have already found his mate."

The King of Weasel's handed a list to Mother and I read over her shoulder, feeling more and more disgruntled as I read.

**Fluxweed:**

Fluxweed is used in this potion because it has healing properties when picked at the full moon. The one who is suspected to be the Veela's mate must drink the potion and the Fluxweed would counteract the potency of the Veela venom and the Unicorn blood.

**Fairy wings:**

These are considered precious ingredients, as fairies are hard to capture. The wings of a fairy have properties that allow the drinker to be identified as the Veela's mate. No one is sure how this is possible.

**Wartizome:**

It does the same thing as the Fairy wings by taking the essence of the Mate and twisting it. This creates an aura that surrounds the Mate so that they are identifiable.

**50 ml of Acromantula venom:**

This is highly poisonous and the venom of the Acromantula allows the Veela to be drawn to their Mate before the Wartizome casts the aura. This allows the Veela to attempt to protect their Mate from any possible side effects of the potion.

**Powdered root of asphodel:**

This counteracts the effects of the Veela venom, much like the Fluxweed does and this is a common ingredient in the Draught of Living Death.

**50 ml of Unicorn blood:**

If drunk straight away it will give the drinker a half-life, but if placed in this potion it makes sure that the potion does not kill the human who drinks it, which may be highly probable.

**50 ml of Veela venom:**

This is so that the Veela is easily recognizable in the potion and it cannot be mistaken for anyone else.

"Wait," I said suddenly once I'd finished reading and the list was passed to father. "So now you're saying that my Mate will have to drink this potion instead of me?"

"It would seem so," father said quietly, sounding inexplicably angry.

"How come you didn't have to do this?" I asked, sounding extremely accusing but at the moment I didn't care. I felt cheated, annoyed. I would have to give a potentially dangerous – although they said that it wasn't – potion to an innocent girl, who may even be a Muggle. That made me think of another question. "And also, how will I be able give them the potion if I have never met them?"

"To the first question, I found my Mate just before my Father was planning on brewing this potion, so I never had to. And to the second question, you will have met your Mate for you to be able to make the connection. You will, actually, know them quite well, even if you do not like them."

"What are my chances of have a _Mudblood _for a Mate?" I asked, feeling inexplicably dirty for using that word. I shouldn't have felt like that, Granger was the one with dirty blood. Why did I just think of Granger?

I shook thoughts of the pretty – no-one could deny it – brunette from my mind and focused on the conversation going on between Arthur Weasley and Father.

'Remember, the Fluxweed must be picked at full moon," the Weasley was saying in a voice so much like Granger's it was creepy. _And now she was in my head, again. Brilliant._

"How are we supposed to acquire Acromantula venom?" Mother asked with a look of utter disgust on her face as she leaned slightly forward, frowning deeply.

"I believe there are some Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest (I held back a shudder). You should probably talk to Hagrid about it first."

"That…"

But whatever I'd been about to say was cut off as I received a sharp kick under the table from Mother, who was now glaring at me.

I just rolled my eyes but didn't say anything in response as we stood and took our leave. As we were leaving I turned back to the place I'd seen Granger with Fred Weasley earlier, only now the brunette was by herself, staring straight at me as if she could see right into my soul by staring at me.

Eventually I turned away, thoroughly unsettled by the intensity of her stare and she hadn't even been glaring.

**XxX**

Hermione:

After we'd been so rudely disturbed by the Malfoy's, I turned to my new boyfriend and gave him a soft smile and a light kiss on the lips before sending him outside to play Quidditch with the rest of them. While I was alone I allowed myself to wonder on the odd feeling I had felt when Malfoy had entered the room.

I had no idea why he was there but something warm had settled in my chest when I saw his astonishing silver eyes fixed on my own. No one could deny that he was handsome, but he was still a prat, which was proven when he actually spoke.

So why did I feel like that?

I shook those thoughts away. I had a boyfriend; I didn't need to be fantasizing about Malfoy on top of everything else. I definitely didn't need that.

"Hermione, are you coming?" a voice yelled from outside just before the Malfoy's left the Burrow. Again, Draco Malfoy's eyes fixed themselves on my own and it took all of my willpower to turn away and join the others outside.

What was happening to me?


	5. Pain

**Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER - I completely agree; it must give you a bit of whiplash. Haha. Thanks for the review, I hope you like this chapter.**

**Candid Serenity - Zabini's twin will come in to it after they go back to school, probably, but I'm not sure exactly when. Draco / Hermione action won't be that far into the story because I like getting into the action quickly without having to wait. I can't wait for that either. Thanks for the review, I hope you like this chapter.**

**Pain**

Hermione:

"School in only three weeks," Ginny exclaimed happily as we made our way out of the Leaky Cauldron and into the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. She twirled excitedly for a moment before being shoved 'accidentally' from behind by a surly Wizard wearing a bowler hat. Before I could snap at him, however, Fred's hand moved into my own, preventing me from doing anything.

A couple of days after the Malfoy's fateful visit to the Burrow – Arthur had refused to tell us why they were there – Fred and I had come clean to his family, who were thrilled about the two of us dating. Molly had been especially proud and every time she saw the two of us together she would 'aww' loudly, causing us to break off from whatever we had been doing. To be honest, it was getting rather annoying, and George wasn't helping any. He would snigger whenever either one of us entered a room. He had been doing it since he had found the two of us snogging in their bedroom. That had been mortifying.

"Where do you want to go first?" Harry asked, breaking me from my thoughts and I turned to see the other five of them – Harry, Ginny, Ron, Fred and George – only to see that they were staring at me in confusion. Under their scrutiny I blushed a brilliant shade of red that could have even rivaled Ron's hair but didn't explain what I had been thinking about. That would have been embarrassing.

"Where do you want to go first?" Harry repeated, sounding slightly annoyed, and I realized with a start that he had asked a question, one that I hadn't bothered to answer.

"Well, we _do _need to get our school books," I said quietly, knowing exactly how that would be taken, "And we need to get out of here as soon as possible." I shivered as I glanced around the dilapidated street, even Weasley Wizard Wheezes was closed as Fred and George had refused to let us come to Diagon Alley by ourselves (for some reason I believed it was more for my benefit than the others as I _was _a Muggleborn and, therefore, they would want to kidnap – or worse, kill – me.

The usual groans followed my sentence but no one said anything against it as I made my way towards the store. Entering, I noticed that it was eerily quiet; painfully so as many people refused to enter Diagon Alley and got their school stuff via Owl. However, Owl post was a luxury the Weasley's couldn't afford and although I would definitely agree to pay for it, and I knew Harry would too, they wouldn't allow it. Henceforth here we were, attempting to buy school things while hoping not to be Avada Kedavraed at any given moment.

"Let's buy our stuff and get out," Ginny whispered in my ear as she followed me away from the others, shivering at the slightly dead look in the shopkeeper's eyes. He used to be so friendly and kind, but the war had changed him as it had everyone else and now he was merely a shell of who he'd once been.

"Agreed," I hissed back as I grabbed a book off the shelf and put it on top of my already growing pile.

"Seriously?" my best girl friend whined, "Do you really need A Guide on How To Train Your Pet Dragon?"

"It might come in handy."

"For Hagrid maybe."

"Okay, I see your point," I conceded, putting the book back with a sigh. Even I had to admit that that was taking it a bit far; I didn't even _like _Dragons. I suppose it would make a good Christmas present for Hagrid.

"Let's go," Gin murmured as we made our way to the checkout and paid, glancing around with a suspicious air as we did so. I couldn't see our boys anywhere so we decided to wait outside for them to arrive, chatting delicately. My back was to the store so I didn't realize that anything was wrong until Ginny was pulling me down sharply.

As it so happened I felt something heavy and sharp hit me on the back of my head, propelling me forward as a wave of dizziness surrounded me. I could hear my name being screamed somewhere to my left and it sounded suspiciously like Ginny, but my vision was slowly going dark. I muttered something under my breath, attempting to get the world to stop spinning, but that just made it worse. I let out a strangled choking noise before my world went black.

**XxX**

Ginny:

Ginny watched helplessly as Flourish and Blotts, the shop her brothers and boyfriend were in, exploded from my inside out. Hermione was still rambling on about something unimportant and didn't realize that anything was amiss, so Ginny took it upon herself to grab her best friends hand and drag her down, away from the debris.

At first she thought that she had succeeded, but then Hermione gave a pained moan, her hand flickering up to the back of her head before coming back covered in blood. Ginny's eyes widened in horror as her best friend swayed weakly, her eyes scrunched up through the pain.

"Mione? Hermione?" Her voice had risen to a terrified squeak as Hermione collapsed on the ground, one hand on her stomach and the other out to the side. Her breathing was extremely labored, and seemed to be getting even more so as the terrified redhead watched.

"Fred? George? Harry? Ron?" she couldn't see any movement from inside the shop, but a moment later there was a series of pops and members of the Order of the Phoenix: Remus, Sirius (who had survived the Veil at the Ministry of Magic), Tonks, McGonagall, Snape, and a few others arrived on the scene.

"Professor," Ginny croaked as Minerva McGonagall looked her way. Shock registered over her lined face for a moment before she gasped, eyes wide.

"See if everyone is okay," she demanded and the others disappeared inside the ruined shop while she grabbed the unconscious girl and apperated away, leaving Ginny to wait in the sidelines.

It was only moments before Remus and Sirius appeared once more. Sirius was helping Ron, who'd broken his ankle when the shop had exploded, but the others were all unharmed aside from a few burns and scratches. Ginny still had tears slipping from her eyes and almost immediately the four men were at her side demanding to know what was wrong and shouting that the Order members should have checked that she was okay before coming in to get them.

Finally it was Fred who asked the fateful question: "Where's Mione?"

**XxX**

Fred:

As his sister's tears became uncontrollable, Fred felt utter fear grip his heart. Okay, so he wasn't _in love _with Hermione, but he definitely liked her as more than a friend and seeing the tears dripping from his sister almond-coloured eyes made him nearly delirious with worry.

"Gin, what happened?"

His voice was low and dangerous, and his bloodied fingernails were scratching uselessly at the floor as if searching for something to hold on so that he did no fall. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly and he would have reached over to shake his sister if George hadn't placed a warning hand on his shoulder. As Fred turned to look at him, he shook his head and allowed his twin to lean his head on his shoulder in order to still his own shaking.

"She…I couldn't stop it…blood…" Ginny gasped randomly, attempting to form coherent sentences but not being able to through her heart-wrenching sobs.

"She is in shock," said a remarkably calm voice from behind them. The person would have looked just as calm as her voice suggested if it wasn't for the different emotions flashing in her eyes: pain, disbelief, sadness, hope, caring…

Professor McGonagall only raised out one hand to the youngest Weasley child and, still sobbing uncontrollably, Ginny took her hand, allowing herself to be pulling into a strong embrace by the woman she had admired for many years. The hard planes on McGonagall's face softened somewhat at the clearly distraught nature of the small sixteen-year-old.

"Where's Mione?" Ron asked after they had been silent for many moments.

A hard expression came upon McGonagall's face as she said the two words the teenagers before her had been hoping she wouldn't say. "St. Mungo's."

Without waiting, Fred apperated himself to the Hospital and demanded to be let into her room. His family and everyone else waited outside to give him some time alone.

As he saw her lying pale and still on the bed, a bandage wrapped around her head, he allowed a lone tear to fall from his eye. Fred felt about a dozen emotions filter through his body in the span of about a minute.

First he felt almost gut-wrenching sadness for the young girl lying as though dead on the starch, white Hospital sheets. It was a suffocating sadness that left him almost breathless as he took the seat beside her bed, taking a freezing hand in his larger ones.

Then he felt utter guilt at not being able to protect her. He was her _boyfriend, _he was supposed to stop her from getting hurt, but he had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn't even noticed when the shop had exploded. If George hadn't been there he would be lying beside Hermione, possibly in even worse shape.

Then he felt slight happiness at the fact that she was hospitalized so she could not possibly get hurt even more until she awoke. Everyone knew that Harry drew trouble to him like a magnet and if she was in Hospital then she was not around him so she would be okay.

That led to even more guilt as she could be dying for all he knew and he was feeling _happy _about it.

Finally the sadness came back and he gently moved her hair away from her face as he breathed deeply and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room, not looking back.

**XxX**

Draco:

I took a deep breath as I finished telling Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, Millicent, Crabbe and Goyle (who were definitely smarter than they looked) about me being a Veela and the potion required to find out who my Mate was.

"Well, you can get asphodel, Wartizome and Unicorn blood from the shops, although the Unicorn blood will have to come from Knockturn Alley…" Pansy began before stopping as she noticed the crazy look she was getting from Blaise.

"He'll have to get _all_ the ingredients from Knockturn Alley; the Apothecary in Diagon Alley has been destroyed."

Pansy just rolled her eyes at the derisive look in my best friends eyes and changed the subject of the conversation with a flourish.

"So, do you know who the mysterious Zabini is yet?"

Blaise's features instantly softened at the thoughts of a sister he had yet to meet (well, he had met her but just didn't know who she was). I tried to put myself in his shoes. I knew that if I had a long lost twin sister I would do everything – _everything _– in my power to get her back. My only hope was that Blaise didn't hurt himself in his search. And, anyway, he'd find out who his sister was _'when the time was right' _as Dumbledore put it. It seemed unfair to me how not even Blaise's parents could know who their own child was, and had to live in the fear that the Dark Lord would find her before they did. I couldn't even begin to fathom what they must be going through.

"Well?" Daphne asked, pulling me from my thoughts and I noticed that the others were all staring at me.

I opened my mouth to ask what the question had been, when a terrifying pain shot through my head. I groaned and raised my hand to it, feeling nothing. I could hear frightened screams and yells as I attempted to keep my grip on reality instead of sinking into the nightmares that hid in the darkness.

I felt myself being lifted up into the air (probably a Levitation charm) but I didn't really care. The excruciating pain had spread to my chest. It felt worse than the Cruciatus Curse (and, trust me, I had been put under that a lot when dear Aunt Bella had been living with us). White-hot needles pierced my skin as scarab beetles burrowed underneath; fire roared in my stomach and a brilliant white light shone from beneath my closed eyelids.

Then it all went black.

**XxX**

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that the pain was gone, leaving me a little light-headed but fine all the same. A light was shining behind my closed lids but I didn't want to open them just yet. Instead, I listened into the conversation happening around me.

"He's been out for an hour."

That was Mother, and she sounded scared witless. I could just imagine her biting her perfectly manicured nails as her eyes trained themselves upon my face incase I showed any sign of waking. I tried to make my breathing deeper so that they could not tell that I was awake and it seemed to work as I never heard Father, who seemed a lot less worried.

"He should be waking soon. He was feeling part of what his Mate was feeling, which must mean that she is terribly hurt. It is a Veela trait."

My eyes flickered open with shock and I bolted up in bed, startling both of my parents, who were immediately by my side.

"_What?_" I gasped, eyes wide, not caring that I had just woken up after an hours sleep. "Veela trait? Can't I just be normal?" The last bit was said in a whisper but from the glare I received from Father it didn't seem to be so quiet. "Wait," I said suddenly, shocking them even more, "You said that I'm feeling _part _of what my Mate is feeling. Does that mean that she's even more injured than I am?"

"Unfortunately so," was the ominous reply from Mother, whose face had gone extremely pale.


End file.
